Working Towards Happiness
by TheLadyIchigo
Summary: Slightly AU. A certain Shinra employee grows closer to her boss while a certain Turk wonders if she's just his friend...
1. Chapter 1

Working Towards Happiness Chapter 1: The City

Metal, concrete, and steam…the three things most common to the floating city called Midgar. Black, deep brown, gray, forest green, stained white, midnight blue, and blood red… everything in Midgar is one of these colors. There are no bright shapes or colorful displays, save the glow of the neon lights. It is a city that has become a slave to its own technology. Midgar is a place of cold inorganic buildings and streets where no flowers or tress grow except in private gardens. Instead skyscrapers and smog obscure the skyline. The sky is dull gray in the daytime, pitch black at night, and in-between it seems as if the blood red sunrises and sunsets are a confirmation that the life of this world is slowly slipping away... The sky cries those tears of blood for its inhabitants, both the good and the bad. Although the city seems ominous to lookers used to green pastures and clear skies, it has become a home to many, a life to some, and torment to others.

For those with money and power, Midgar is a paradise. Here the law of the land is Shinra's will and everyone important is with Shinra. As its domination of this globe continues, more people join the ranks of those with power and money. The sunrise to the rich is the symbol of a new day to become greater, a new day to become more powerful. It seems to challenge them. Midgar is the home to the rich.

To the workers who work in Midgar, mostly for Shinra, the city is a way of life if not life itself. Day in and day out brings paperwork, typing, and a paycheck. When the moon has at last risen in the eastern sky, the night life of the worker comes to light. Amid dancing and drinks, the everyday person can be found enjoying the fruits of his or her labor. True, from time to time they complain, but nevertheless, they keep working. Why? Perhaps, it is their dreams that keep them going. They dream of the day when the money they earn will be enough to buy happiness, for that is truly everyone's wish deep inside. Even though forms of happiness are different, in the end it is all we ever search for.

For those who have no money, Midgar is an eternal torment. Those who live below the plate in the slums below have no say or power. They are either poor or rebels against the glory of Shinra. They live in the darkness, never seeing the sky, among garbage where crime is something that happens every day and the dawn of the sun brings nothing but another day's struggle to survive. Life's unfair, that's what they say, but truly they are poor by their own account. They are all rebels against Shinra, unemployed, or avid gamblers. What little money they have they make no use of. With hard work, anyone can get out of the slums, but it takes time and careful planning. They are their by their own fault.

Midgar is the home to the rich, the torment of the poor, and the life of the workers. It is a paradise for some, and a living hell for others. Shinra rules everything, Shinra reigns supreme, and everything and anything revolves around Shinra. Shinra is to be admired? Hated? Each person must make that decision on their own. Do you 'go with the flow' and eventually reach that guaranteed happiness that Shinra promises? Or do you rebel and risk everything for one of two outcomes, death or a greater happiness? More likely those who rebel receive death. It is just punishment for those who wish to destroy all that Shinra has created.

Upon which side do your loyalties lie? Which battle do you fight: the one to overthrow Shinra or the one to gain power and glory working for Shinra? Everything is Shinra. Upon saying that, I shall ask again: upon which side do your loyalties lie?

"With Shinra, of course. You'd have to be stupid to fight it."

Inside a dimly lit apartment on the tenth floor of the Shinra Workers Apartment Complex in Sector 3 of Midgar, Sukidaai Ko Usowana snapped closed the notebook that contained the paragraphs she had written about Shinra and Midgar. It was a rather introspective piece that she one day hoped to turn into a book. It had taken weeks to perfect the few paragraphs that were written. After all, her job was demanding. Sukidaai Ko Usowana had worked for Shinra since her twelfth birthday, when she had sorted mail in the mailroom and made the daily coffee and doughnut runs. Twenty years later, at age thirty-two, she had risen through the ranks of the company to come to work on the 54th floor.

In Shinra, the higher the floor you worked on, the more important you were. The building contained 70 floors, with the president residing on floor 70 and everyone underneath him on the floors below in corresponding order. Floor 60 was the highest floor a normal worked could advance to, since floors 62 to 70 contained spies, generals, scientists, and other important people.

Sukidaai, called Suki by her co-workers since they always mispronounced her full name, had worked long and hard to get where she was today. The childish girl with sapphire eyes and golden blonde hair who had run around giving workers coffee and doughnuts had matured into a well cultured worker with quick hands who followed protocol exactly. Suki had a spot-less, label-less record.

Shinra kept records on every person in the world. The records listed personal information, such as age, gender, and birth date, as well as criminal data. The records kept track of a person's offenses (when they broke one of the many laws). Each different offense was worth a point value. The records kept track of the offenses and the amount of points accumulated by the person. Needless to say, some offenses (such as Murder) were worth more points that others. When a certain number of points were reached, the person would be jailed, fined, or sometimes executed. The records also kept track of labels. Labels identified whether a person was related to a well known criminal, a known thief, a rebel against Shinra, or many other things. Labels helped when Shinra needed to find a possible offender for a robbery. Instead of looking through millions of files, Shinra could simply pull up the files of labeled robbers, people who had robbed avidly before in the past, and start their search their.

It was hard to keep a perfectly clean record, but Suki, dedicated to Shinra 100%, had somehow managed it. It was an accomplishment she was most proud of. Suki was a 'model employee' according to her supervisor. She always got her work done on time and was always willing to finish naother person's work for the if they fell behind. Suki was a calm, efficent, and organized employee, 'exactly', as her superviosr had told her. 'what Shinra needs more of'.

Snapping out of the dreamlike state she had fallen into, Suki gave the red digital clock on the dresser a glance. The time read 7:30 A.M. Smiling softly, Suki tucked the notebook within her black briefcase and walked towards the closet to get dressed for the big day ahead. She donned her normal gray two-piece suit with the skirt and put her long golden hair into the usual bun, tying it with a blue ribbon. She did her minimal make-up and put on the simply chain necklace, and then put the signature three golden sticks through the bun in her hair and centererd the circular orb in the middle. The 'sticks', although they appeared to be decrotive, were actually double-tip pens in black, red, blue, silver, gold, and white. The decortive orb cntained whte out and the top of it pulled off to reveal an eraser on one end and a mini sharpener on the other. Suki smiled to herself, knowing a good employee always had a few writing utensils on hand.

Shutting off the lights in the apartment, Suki walked towards the door, picking up her briefcase along the way. Removing the keys from her pocket, Suki shut the door and locked it behind her. She traversed the hallway to the complex's elevators and prssed the button. When the elevator arrived, Suki got in and rode it down to the first floor. After leaving the complex, Suki walked to the bus stop. Each of the Shinra apartment complexes had a bus than ran daily from the complexes to Shinra Headquaters and back every fifteen minutes. Glancing at her watch, Suki sighed, knowing the bus would arrive any minute. No sooner hd the thought crossed her mind, then the bus appeared. Suki got on, payed the driver the normal fee of 30 gil and took her normal seat in the second row, next to the window. Besides Suki and the driver, a balding man in his fourties, there were two girls in th very back dressed in black suits, both with brown hair and auburn eyes, a nervous looking teenager dressed in a brown suit, and another older man in a black suit with blonde hair and black eyes, apparently half-asleep. It was the normal moorning crew.

As the bus drove through the streets, it made the normal stop near Bruelon Avenue. Normally, no one got on from this stop. The sole employee who used the stop was normally off on missions or not required to shop up for work until 10. However, today the red haired man dressed in the crumpled blue uniform boarded the bus and sat in the fist row, in front of Suki. He waited until the bus started moving before he turned around and adressed her.

"Hey Sukes, how's the paperwork?" The man flashed a smile as he brushed aside the red hair from his eyes.

"The same as always." Suki answered, not looking away from the window.

"Ya need to get out more, Sukes. Stop spending time inside and get out more! Live a little, have some drinks." He ended his comment by tossing his hands up in the air.

"No thank you. Those drinks make me feel how you look in the morning after one of your all-night adventures." Suki smiled slightly.

"Hey, no need to be nasty Sukes. Ya don't have to keep baging on me cause of that one night." He was half laughing, half acting insulted.

"One? try one hundred or one thousand. I've lost count of how many times you've shown up at my door totally stone and unable to remember where you live." Suki answered, smiling slightly.

"Hey...it wasn't my fault...I just like to-"

"Yes, yes, i know. you just like to have fun on the few days you have off. I've heard it before, Reno."

At this comment, the only answer Reno could give was a slight shrug.

"So, why are you up so early? Another mission or breifing from Tseng?" Suki asked him, her attention now fully on the Turk sitting in the row before her.

"No clue. Rude negelcted to mention the details...probably cause he forgot them. I expect that's the acse though." Reno sighed softly, then grinned widely. "But it's all good, if I get to kick some ASS!"

Suki smirked and the shook her head. "You enjoy that WAY too much, Reno my friend. WAY too much."

The bus finally pulled into the station near Shinra Headquaters and, one-by-one, everyone got off the bus. As Reno and Suki walked towards the big building, Reno sighed.

"It's a way of life, Sukidaai. It's a way of life."


	2. Chapter 2

Working Towards Happiness Chapter 2: Flowers of the Heart

Suki's morning went relatively uneventful, with absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happening. Executives went about their business on the floor and supervisors stopped frequently by to check that work was being done. At around 10 the coffee and doughnuts arrived and Suki finished typing the tenth report as she nibbled on the chocolate frosted doughnut. At lunch, Suki sat with her two lower co-workers, Nada and Reba. They talked about the day's events, fantasized about their perfect boyfriends, and talked briefly on the matter of the overwhelming load of paperwork. When lunch was over, however, things took a slight change.

Guided by soldiers, the girls were lead into one of the main conference halls. Puzzled by the development, Suki wondered if there was a bomb somewhere in the building and that this was a safety precaution. When all of the girls were gathered, one of the soldiers jumped upon the small platform near the front and began to read the speech on the document in front of him.

"Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the creating of Shinra Inc. As in tradition, the annual employee ball will be held tomorrow night in the grand ball room from 6 P.M. until 1 A.M. However, due to the discrepancies over dates and clashing dresses from the previous ball, special measures will be taken."

Suki frowned at this. What kind of special measures? True, the last ball had been a mess. All of the girls had argued about dress color and everyone wanted the same date!

"Starting with the highest girl authority, you will, one by one in descending order, draw a number from the box on the platform beside me and then you are free to go back to work. All of the men are in a separate and are also drawing numbers. You date will be the person who has the same number as you, although you won't find out who that is until tomorrow night. Also, do to the color issues, each couple will be assigned a color by random slots drawn by the guys. You ladies will receive a corsage that matches the color you dress must be before dismissal today. Please make sure you dress matches the flower color or you will not be allowed to attend. There is to be no trading or exchanging of dates or colors. Now, please line up and draw a number."

Suki shrugged and got into line in front of Reba and Nada. Well, if anything this was a way to eliminate everyone swarming over the same guy. When it was her turn, Suki reached into the box a picked out a paper slip, then went back to her desk to wait for Reba and Nada. Upon sitting down, Suki opened her slip and looked at the number inside. It was 77. Reba soon joined her, having picked number 223, and Nada came three minutes later with number 698. Silently wondering just who her date was, Suki went back to work on the seemingly endless pile of paperwork in front of her.

At three, Suki, Reba, and Nada took their 15-minute afternoon breaks and sat upstairs in the cafeteria drinking coffee.

"I heard from on of the guys a few floors down that EVERY guy drew a number, even the members of the Turks and President Rufus. I envy whoever gets that hunk for a date." Reba commented.

Nada cringed. "If they drew lots, then you can bet Hojo and Heidegger did, too. I'd hate to have one of them as my date."

Suki laughed along with the two as they walked back towards their desks. "Knowing my luck, I'll get someone high up and be so nervous I'll trip and embarrass myself! Either that or get a tacky color like neon yellow."

"Speaking of colors" Reba began, "Our corsages are here."

Upon every female's desk rested a box with their name printed upon the top. Reba picked hers up and opened it. The flower inside was a pale blue. Reba smiled, knowing the blue flower would go nice with her dark hair. Nada picked her box up rather nervously and then thrust it at Reba.

"You open it and tell me if it's a good color or not." Nada told her.

Reba shrugged and opened Nada's box.

"Don't worry. You always do look good in dark blue." Reba told her, holding up the dark blue flower.

Suki smiled, happy for her two friends, but also amused that they both got a shade of blue. She picked up her won box from the desk and cast a glance at Reba and Nada that said 'wish me luck'. Opening the box, Suki smiled. The flower was pure white.

"Well, it looks as if we all got good colors, huh?" Suki asked her two friends. Both nodded in response and then all three went back to the paperwork, heads filled with thoughts of just who their dates could be.

The next day, every employee that arrived at Shinra had a box and a long dress/tux bag with them. Suki, Nada, and Reba spent the morning and afternoon like always, save the presence of the corsages and dresses nearby. Come afternoon break, the entire building was abuzz about the ball and rumors about certain numbers were flying about. Suki could hardly wait to tell Reba and Nada what she had seen earlier. However, only Reba arrived on time, and Suki decided to tell her the big news.

"Hey, listen up." Suki started. "I was walking down the hall earlier to hand in those papers to Greg and I bumped into Reno."

At the mention of the red-headed Turk's name, Reba became very interested in what Suki was talking about. It was no secret between the three girls that Reba had the hots for him.

"…And he accidentally dropped his number." Suki continued.

"AND?" Reba asked, impatiently.

"I hope you have fun at the ball with him, Reba." Suki grinned.

Reba squealed like a high-school girl and hugged Suki. A date with Reno had been Reba's dream! "Who's Nada's date?" Reba asked Suki, after she had managed to calm down.

"Oh, she said earlier it was a guy from a floor down. You know the black haired Asian guy?" Suki said, trying to remember more details from an earlier conversation with Nada.

"Oh…she must like that."

"I think so. Hey, where is she anyway?"

Reba shrugged and she and Suki went back to their drinks. Three minutes before break ended Nada ran in the room and joined the pair.

"Suki, what number do you have?" Nada asked her, out-of-breath.

"Uh, 77…why?" Suki told her, taking a moment to examine the number in her pocket.

"OH MY GOD! YOU ARE SOOOO LUCKY!" Nada practically screamed.

"Why? Who's Suki's date?" Reba asked her.

Nada called Reba over and whispered in her ear. Reba's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Really?" She asked Nada.

"Yup."

"Oh my word…I envy you Suki." Reba told her.

"So, are you two going to tell me or not?" Suki asked, half annoyed that she was being left out of an issue that directly concerned her.

Nada started. "Yeah, okay. It's-"

"President Rufus!" Reba cut her off.

Suki blinked, and then did what almost anyone in her position would do: she fainted.


	3. Chapter 3

Working Towards Happiness Chapter 3: Crush

Suki woke up to a slight breeze and the smell of beer. Squinting at the bright light above her, she recognized the ceiling of the relaxation room. Rolling over slightly, Suki looked up at Reno, who was fanning her face with a paper fan, a half-empty bottle of beer in his other hand. Slowly sitting up, her head still ringing slightly, Suki sighed. Looking around the small room, she saw other girls, at least 5, laying down on surrounding cots.

"What happened?" She asked Reno.

Reno shrugged. "Ya fainted after ya heard who your date was."

Suki looked at him, confused, for a moment. Then asked, in disbelief. "And that made me faint?"

Reno nodded.

Suki motioned towards the other girls, who were all still asleep. "What about them?" Reno shrugged.

"Same as you."

Suki sighed. "Just who was it again? My date."

Reno laughed. "You must have hit your head if you forgot. It's Mr. Pretty-Boy-I-Am-Rich-Fancypants."

Suki growled slightly. "And I'm supposed to know who that is?"

Reno smirked slightly. "Who else do I call that, 'cept Rufus?"

Suki paled significantly. "Rufus...as in Rufus Shinra...as in President Rufus Shinra?"

Reno laughed again. "I don't know any other Rufuses and thank god for that!"

Suki sighed shakily and laid back down on the cot..."I think I need to lie down for another hour or two..."

Reno stared at her, then laughed even louder. "Of all the things! She can eat my cooking, which in itself is saying somthin', she never gets grosses out, and she can stand to watch those graphic medical programs, but she faints when she finds out she's got a date with Rufus? Looks like I found her weakness after all..."

Meanwhile, in the conference room, Rufus has gathered the other three Turks, Reeve, Heighdigger, Scarlet, and Palmer for a meeting concerning the ball. Elena was staring dreamily at Tseng, who didn't seem to notice her. Rude was laughing under his breath at something, Scarlet was checking her nails for flaws, Palmer was arguing with himself, Heighdigger was eating, and Reeve was checking over paperwork. The door at the far end of the room opened and in strode Rufus. No one seemed to notice however, until he slammed the door shut behind him.

"All preparations are finished?" Rufus asked lazily.

"Yes, sir. Just completed an hour ago." Scarlet answered, smiling widely.

Rufus ignored her glance. "The food?"

"It's very tasty...and all ready too. GWAHAHAHA!" Heighdigger responded, shoving a bagel in his mouth.

Rufus glared at him "Shut up. And what about the music?"

"The DJ arrived and hour ago and Rude & I went through the song list and eliminated all the 'improper' songs, sir." Elena responded, perky as ever.

No one noticed when Reno snuck back in the meeting and took his normal seat next to Rude, who punched him in the arm, only to get punched back.

"Okay, so onto more important matters: did anyone figure out the last three?" Rufus asked, pointing towards the chart behind him which contained a listing of everyone in the room's name, plus Hojo, as well as their color for the dance, and their date. Three names had blank spots in the date area: Elena, Rude, and Rufus.

"I know who mine is!" Elena chimed in. "It's that weird guy from the lobby who has the glare that makes his eyes look like they're popping out of their sockets. I think it's Tinnt or something like that."

Rufus shrugged and wrote Tinnt's name in beside Elena's. "What about you Rude, any idea who your date is?" Rufus turned his head towards the bald Turk.

"Floor 50's secretary, the one with the poofy brown hair." Rude answered, looking like it was the last thing he wanted. Rufus shrugged again and wrote Mina in next to Rude.

"And finally, anyone find out my date?" Rufus asked, eyes scanning the room.

Reno, meanwhile, was trying to decide whether or not to tell Rufus. His 'guardians' were debating for him. (AN-Like the devil and angel who appear on people's shoulders during cartoons. **angel** and ^^devil^^)

**You should tell your boss who his date is. He deserves to know.**

^^If you tell that grump, he might decide not to go and then it will be Suki that gets hurt!^^

**Rufus would never do something like that!**

^^He pushed that employee out the window of the 40th floor, now didn't he?^^

**... ... ...**

^^And let's not forget what he did with the guy who called him 'Bub'^^

**... ... ...Okay, let's not tell him.**

^^Hey, you're not supposed to agree with me! We're supposed to debate endlessly until Reno makes up his own mind.^^

**It's not my fault! I always have the losing side of the argument!**

^^True...^^

"Anyone?" Rufus asked again, looking in the direction of the four Turks.

Tseng shook his head, Rude shrugged, Elena looked disappointedly, and Reno...wasn't paying attention.

"Reno? RENO!" Rufus yelled at the fiery-haired minion until he finally snapped out of his dream-like state.

"Huh? Whatas?" Reno muttered confusedly.

"Reno, do you know who my date is?" Rufus asked, a little more calm than before.

Reno scratched his head, the fact that Rufus meant for the ball obviously not registering. "Date? For what? I didn't know ya dated..."

Rufus covered his face with his hand, sighing. "Dismissed, all of you..."

Reno shrugged and walked out with the other four. Once outside, everyone went their separate ways, except for Rufus who was still sitting there is disbelief and Rude who followed Reno down the hall until they were about ten feet away from the meeting hall before slapping the red-headed Turk on the back, hard.

"Hey, what that for?" Reno shouted, turning around in mid-step. He smashed into a nearby door, causing it to shatter a vase nearby.

Inside the meeting hall, Rufus looked up after hearing the noise and spotted the ruined vase. His left eyebrow twitched.

"For your dumb act! 'I didn't know ya dated...'! Give me a break!" Reno scoffed.

"Wait, he didn't mean his date for the ball, did he?" Reno asked, scratching his head.

"Well, YES!"

"Oh! OH! I wasn't thinkin' back there! I know who that is." Reno lamented.

"Really?" Rude asked him, disbelieving.

"Yup, its Sukes." Reno nodded.

"Sukes?" Rude asked looking confused.

"Yeah, you know? Suki?" Reno prodded.

"Who?" Rude questioned.

"Sukidaii." Reno stated.

"Whasa?" Rude asked again.

"Sukidaii Ko Usowana: the blonde chick with the sapphire eyes from floor 54!" Reno practically screamed.

"Oh, HER!" Rude smiled and nodded. "She's pretty cute."

As the two Turks rounded the corner, Rufus charged down the hallway after the two, holding what remained of the priceless vase that Reno had slammed the door into. As Rufus got closer, both Turks didn't even seem to notice.

"So, you know that chick right?" Rude asked Reno.

"Yea, old friend. We go back ta 'mentary school." Reno remarked.

"Ya like her?" Rude accused.

"NO! Heavens no!" Reno said, shaking his head adamantly, his face turning red.

"Ya do." Rude teased, knowing Reno probably didn't.

Reno put his head down and whispered. "Is it that obvious?"

"Obvious that what?" Rude questioned.

"Is it that obvious that I like her and have liked her since 'mentary school?" Rude whispered.

Rude's mouth dropped open, but he quickly recovered. "Aw… Reno's got a crush! Reno's got a crush!" Rude sang, running ahead of Reno down the hallway.

Reno looked at Rude singing away and charged after him screaming "SHUT UP! I do NOT!"

Rufus stopped in his tracks, watching the two chase each other down the hallway yelling at the top of their lungs. Sometimes, he truly wondered if these elite spies were in their men or little children...aparently not all of them had all their marbles...


End file.
